Multi-attribute preference modelling and regional land-use planning

Forest management policy decisions are complex due to the multiple-use nature of goods and services from forests, difficulty in monetary valuation of ecological services and the involvement of a large number of stakeholders. Multi-attribute decision techniques can be used to synthesise stakeholder preferences related to regional forest planning because it can accommodate conflicting, multidimensional, incommensurable and incomparable objectives. The objective of this paper is to examine how the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) can be used to incorporate stakeholder preferences in determining optimal forest land-use choices. The Australian Regional Forest Agreement Programme is taken as an illustrative case for the analysis. The results show that the AHP can formalise public participation in decision making and increase the transparency and the credibility of the process.

The influence of leisure preference, life priority and making time on regular participation in leisure time physical activity

Using an attitude-behaviour theory approach this study examined the direct and indirect influence of preference, life priority and time allocation on regular participation in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA). The crosssectional study used self-report questionnaires to collect data from a random sample of 250 people aged 19 to 87 years living in an Australian city. The findings suggest that people’s regular participation in LTPA is not directly influenced by their preference for it. Rather, making LTPA a high life priority and allocating time for LTPA are intervening factors that explain the relationship. The outcomes emphasise the importance of encouraging the formation of a preference for physical activity in young children. They suggest all levels of government and the leisure profession emphasise work/life balance by prioritising LTPA, educating people about time management and helping them to develop time management skills.

Song and female choice for extrapair copulations in the sedge warbler, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus

Although 90% of passerine birds live in socially monogamous pair bonds, molecular studies have revealed that genetic polygamy occurs in 86% of surveyed passerines, because individuals engage in copulations outside the pair bond (extrapair copulations; EPCs). Most explanations for the occurrence of EPCs involve female gaining indirect benefits from the extrapair male. The sedge warbler is a socially monogamous species in which some offspring result from EPCs (8% in this study). Complex song is a sexually selected male trait used by females which select mates based on a variety of male qualities. We used microsatellite DNA profiling to detect extrapair young and assign paternity. ‘Good genes’ theory predicts that females should engage in EPCs with males of higher quality than their social mate, with resulting fitness benefits. Extrapair males had smaller song repertoires and smaller territories than the social mate. This apparent preference for small-repertoire males as extrapair mates conflicts with the predictions from previous studies of this species. Sudden cessation of song after pairing may mean that song cues are unavailable for later extrapair matings and females may switch to other cues. Such behaviour may lead to different patterns of female choice during social and extrapair mating in the sedge warbler. We conclude that multiple reasons underlie patterns of female choice in this species.

Functional morphology of the gastric mills of carnivorous, omnivorous, and herbivorous land crabs

Terrestrial decapods consume a wide variety of plant and animal material. The potential adaptations of carnivorous, omnivorous, and herbivorous terrestrial crustaceans were studied by examining the functional morphology of the gastric mill. Two closely related species from each feeding preference group were examined to identify which features of the mill were due to phylogeny and which were due to adaptation. The morphology of the gastric mill matched the diet well; the gastric mills of the carnivorous species (Geograpsus grayi and Geograpsus crinipes) possessed a blunt, rounded medial tooth and flattened lateral teeth with a longitudinal grinding groove. These features make them well suited to a carnivorous diet of soft animal tissue as well as hard material, such as arthropod exoskeleton. In contrast, the mill of the herbivorous gecarcinids (Gecarcoidea natalis and Discoplax hirtipes) consisted of a medial tooth with sharp transverse ridges and lateral teeth with sharp interlocking cusps and ridges and no grinding surface. These features would efficiently shred fibrous plant material. The morphology of the mill of the omnivorous coenobitids (Coenobita perlatus and Birgus latro) was more generalized toward a mixed diet. However, the mill of B. latro was more adapted to deal with highly nutritious food items, such as nuts and heavily calcified decapods. Its mill possessed lateral teeth with extended ridges, which sat close to the calcified cardiopyloric valve to form a flattened floor. Hard items trapped in the mill would be crushed against this surface by the medial tooth.

The effect of acute fenitrotion exposure on a variety of physiological indices, including avian aerobic metabolism during exercise and cold exposure

The effect of fenitrothion exposure on birds was examined by measuring aerobic metabolism, blood hemoglobin content, plasma cholinesterases, and body weight for up to 21 d postdose. Peak metabolic rate was measured in a flight chamber in three-dose groups of house sparrows (Passer domesticus; 100 mg/kg = high, 60 mg/kg = medium, 30 mg/kg = low) and one-dose groups of zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata; 3 mg/kg) and king quails (Coturnix chinensis; 26 mg/kg). Aerobic metabolism was measured during 1 h of exposure to subfreezing thermal conditions in low-dose house sparrows and king quails (26 mg/kg). Fenitrothion had no effect on metabolic rate during cold exposure or on blood hemoglobin at any time. By contrast, aerobic performance during exercise in sparrows was reduced by 58% (high), 18% (medium), and 20% (low), respectively, 2 d postdose. House sparrows (high) had the longest recovery period for peak metabolic rate (21 d) and plasma cholinesterase activity (14 d). House sparrows (high) and treated king quails had significantly lower myoglobin at 48 h postdose, whereas myoglobin was invariant in zebra finches and house sparrows (medium and low). Cholinesterase was maximally inhibited at 6 h postdose, and had recovered within 24 h, in house sparrows (low), king quails, and zebra finches. Exercise peak metabolic rate in zebra finches and king quails was reduced by 23% at 2 d and 3 d, respectively, despite these birds being asymptomatic in both behavior and plasma cholinesterase activities.

Effects of sublethal fenitrothion ingestion on cholinesterase inhibition, standard metabolism, thermal preference, and prey-capture ability in the Australian central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps, Agamidae)

The central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) is a medium-sized lizard that is common in semiarid habitats in Australia and that potentially is at risk of fenitrothion exposure from use of the chemical in plague locust control. We examined the effects of single sublethal doses of this organophosphate (OP; low dose = 2.0 mg/kg; high dose = 20 mg/kg; control = vehicle alone) on lizard thermal preference, standard metabolic rate, and prey-capture ability. We also measured activities of plasma total cholinesterase (ChE) and acetylcholinesterase before and at 0, 2, 8, 24, 120, and 504 h after OP dosing. Predose plasma total ChE activity differed significantly between sexes and averaged 0.66 ± 0.06 and 0.45 ± 0.06 μmol/min/ml for males and females, respectively. Approximately 75% of total ChE activity was attributable to butyrylcholinesterase. Peak ChE inhibition reached 19% 2 h after OP ingestion in the low-dose group, and 68% 8 h after ingestion in high-dose animals. Neither OP doses significantly affected diurnal body temperature, standard metabolic rate, or feeding rate. Plasma total ChE levels remained substantially depressed up to 21 d after dosing in the high-dose group, making this species a useful long-term biomonitor of OP exposure in its habitat.

Fruit consumption of boys (8–11 years) is related to preference for sour taste

The present study investigated whether the most preferred balance between sweet and sour taste of children (n=50, 9.2±0.9 yrs of age) are related to their consumption of fruit. Taste preferences were measured with a rank-by-elimination procedure with seven sweet orangeades that differed in added citric acid (i.e. 0.009−0.065 M). Fruit consumption was assessed with a questionnaire that was completed by the children's parents. Results showed that boys' but not girls' most preferred balance between sweet and sour taste was positively correlated with their consumption of fruit: that is, the more added citric acid was preferred the more fruit was consumed. We conclude that preference for high concentrations of citric acid in a sweet context may be associated with the consumption of fruit in boys. In girls, the optimal balance between sweet and sour taste seems to be of less importance; their consumption of fruit may be more influenced by their parents, availability and health related motives.

Differences within and between travel preference, planned travel and choice behavior of Australians traveling to Asian and oversea destinations

This study seeks to examine differences in travel preference, travel intention and destination choice behavior of an aggregated set of Australian travelers. Additionally the study seeks to relate income, age, gender, life cycle and life style of Australians to the preference, planning and choice of Asian and overseas destinations. A large representative sample of 49,000 Australian respondents is utilized. Binomial regression is used to profile travelers to Asia and overseas in general. Specific significant variables and differences are highlighted. There are consistent relationships between travel preference, planning and choice and the set of independent variables of income, life cycle and life style. Age nor gender are not consistently related to travel planning or travel choice. It is apparent that a combination of demographics, e.g. age, income and life cycle, combined with life style will provide a more valuable basis for segmentation of Asian and overseas travel markets. The study aims to profile potential Australian tourists thereby making a contribution to tourism knowledge and market segmentation practice.

Investigating women's preference for sildenafil or tadalafil use by their partners with erectile dysfunction : the partners' preference study.

Introduction: Several preference studies comparing a short-acting with a longer-acting phosphodiesterase type 5 inhibitor have been conducted in men. Most men in those studies preferred tadalafil rather than sildenafil, and recent post hoc analysis of one study described several factors associated with men’s treatment preference. No prospective studies have investigated the woman partners’ preferences.

Aim: To investigate the treatment preference of women who were partners of men using oral medications for erectile dysfunction (ED) in a single-center open-label crossover study.

Methods: One hundred heterosexual couples in stable relationships, with male partners having ED based on the erectile function subscale of the International Index of Erectile Function, were randomly assigned to receive sildenafil or  tadalafil for a 12-week phase, followed by another 12-week period using the alternate drug. Male and female participants completed sexual event diaries during both study phases, and the female participants were interviewed at  baseline, midpoint, and end of study.

Main Outcome Measures: Primary outcome data were the women’s final  interviews during which they were asked which drug they preferred and their reasons for that preference.

Results: A total of 79.2% of the women preferred their partners’ use of tadalafil, while 15.6% preferred sildenafil. Preference was not affected by age or treatment order randomization. Women preferring tadalafil reported feeling more relaxed, experiencing less pressure, and enjoying a more natural or spontaneous sexual experience as reasons for their choice. Mean number of tablets used, events recorded, events per week, and days between events were not significantly different during each study phase.

Conclusion: Women’s preferences were similar to men when using these two drugs. While the women’s reasons for preferring tadalafil emphasized relaxed, satisfying, longer-lasting sexual experiences, those preferring sildenafil focused on satisfaction and drug effectiveness for their partner.

Ornament colour selection, visual contrast and the shape of colour preference functions in great bowerbirds, Chlamydera nuchalis

A male bowerbird visual signal includes his own plumage, a structure he  constructs out of plant material and coloured objects (ornaments) he places on or near the structure to make up the bower. Plumage and bower together are used to attract females for mating. Ornaments are known to contrast with plumage, bower structure and visual backgrounds in seven Australian bowerbird species (Endler et al. 2005, Evolution, 50, 1795-1818). We estimated the colour preferences in a wild population of great bowerbirds using artificially coloured objects widely spaced in bird colour space. We found that these birds prefer colours that contrast with their own plumage, the bower structure and the visual backgrounds adjacent to the bower, and that they have very strong dislikes for colours that are similar to their own plumage and to the visual backgrounds. The range of disliked colour hues was much narrower than the range of preferred hues, suggesting that the word 'preference' may be misleading. Preferences for colour are inherently multidimensional and should be studied in the context of their function.

Response of the child with autism to preferred prosody during instruction

It has been found that incorporating preferences leads to improvements in target skills for children with autism. No studies have been found, however, that assess the preferences of children for prosody of teacher instruction. Prosody has been defined by fluency of speech, modification of pitch and stress of syllables. This research assessed the preference for, and effectiveness of, prosody of instruction by teachers of children with autism. The preferences of children with autism for monotone, conversational and enthusiastic voice prosodies were assessed. The children's teachers made recording of their own voice reading a story passage in the three selected prosodies. The children with autism were requested to listen to these recordings and select a preferred prosody over thirty three trials. Chi square analyses were conducted to determine the significant preferences from these trials. The selections of prosody of the children with autism were compared with the selections of typical children of the same age. Significant preferences were found for three children with autism and seven typical children. The three children with autism with significant preferences were observed in their classrooms. Teachers were cued with flashcards to use the different prosodies and the children's responses were recorded. An additional twenty instructions were recorded in which the teachers were not given a cue for voice prosody Chi square and Fisher's exact tests indicated that children's preferences did not influence their responses to prosody during classroom instruction. In other words the response in class was not related to prosody preference. Overall children were more likely to not respond to the monotone prosody. The enthusiastic and conversational prosodies were equally effective. Therefore it was concluded that continued and varied use of enthusiastic and conversational prosodies during classroom instruction would be effective for children with autism. It was recommended that future research focus on evaluating the effectiveness of variety of prosody for children with autism.

Changing bodies, changing discourses : women's experiences of early menopause

Early menopause has been constructed by discourses of biological determinism as an untimely, but natural, failure of the female body. Medical discourses in particular have interpreted early menopause as a congenital irregularity and a rare anomaly of menopause at midlife. In this thesis I challenge the notion that early menopause is an innate imperfection related only to women’s age. I propose that early menopause is dependent upon the cultural interpretations of individual women and is constituted through the mercurial and multiple discourses of women who have this embodied experience. Moreover, I reveal that early menopause is a contemporary condition and that its location in history is inextricably bound to discourses of risk, naturalism and the self. Further I make the assumption that having an early menopause both affects and is an effect of women’s fertility, sexuality and subjectivity. I have drawn upon a broad range of sources to provide a sociological analysis of early menopause. Literature on early menopause is dominated by positivist discourses, yet many alternate discourses negotiate these influential constructions. I suggest here that the perception of early menopause as a natural fault is merely a construction by medical discourses and does not incorporate the dynamic discourses of early-menopausal women. Moreover, the restriction of early menopause to a genetic female failure excludes the majority of women who have an early menopause through iatrogenisis. This omission occurs through the failure of positivist discourses to accommodate diversity in discourses. Recent sociological and feminist studies have vindicated menopausal women. They have reconstructed menopause through notions of embodiment and have removed the veil of negativity used by the medical sciences to contain menopausal women (Komesaroff, Rothfield and Daly 1997). The visibility of menopausal women, however, remains connected to age. Menopause has been created as a predictable consequence of aging and as such has come to be synonymous with middle age. Nowadays, even men are said to experience menopause at midlife (Carruthers 1996). But early menopause is constituted within the discourses of women who have this experience. Medico-scientific discourses, based upon theories of genetic inevitability, disregard this perspective. Consequently early menopause is subsumed by naturalistic discourses that relate menopause to midlife. Such restraint reflects the unease created by menopause that does not coincide with prescribed life stages. Women's experiences of their changing bodies are largely unheard. Thus, women who have an early menopause are faced with a chasm of ‘cultural non-recognition’ (Fraser 1997). Conjointly with this discursive repression early-menopausal women face social imbalances that are transacted as both cause and consequence of early menopause. In particular the contemporary creation of early menopause is bound to the social and historical location of women as a group. Women are exploited by the institution of medicine, ‘exposure to environmental toxicity’ (Fraser 1997: 11) and commercialization as causes of early menopause. Yet the corporeal effects of practices of risk avoidance (Beck 1993), social practices (Shilling 1993) and Western consumerism (Lupton 1994) fail to be recognized. I address these problematics through a poststructural and feminist critique that assumes moments of commonality among women, while at the same time recognizes shifting and multiple differences (Nicholson 1999). I suggest here that early menopause falls into cultural misrecognition in Fraser's (1997) terms and argue that it is united concurrently with the gender injustice of androcentrism (Fraser 1997: 21). Fraser (1997: 16) suggests that it is only by relating these dual problematics that we are able to make sense of current dilemmas. Thus I have critiqued early menopause through a connection between individual embodied experiences of early menopause and early menopause as a modern phenomenon that is specific to women. I have attempted to unravel these arguments that simultaneously call to ‘... abolish gender differentiation and to valorize gender specificity’ (Fraser 1997: 21) while at the same time acknowledging their interconnectedness. An approach of merely combining women’s discourses with overarching social issues would be inadequate as not only do these problematics intersect but they also can be opposed. As Fraser (1997: 25) notes with her theory, redressing one aspect of cultural or social analysis can further imbalance another. For instance making visible the diversity and uniqueness of individual experiences of early menopause could detract from acknowledging the contemporary construction of early menopause through social inequality. Crucial to this understanding is a destabilizing of the binary construction of differences between the sexes that makes way for a reconstruction of early menopause through ‘sexual slippage’ (Matus 1995). In this thesis I look for a subtlety between the particular and the collective that views early menopause as concurrently a singular and changeable experience as well as imbedded in social practice. I suggest that these concepts are entwined as interactive effects of early menopause. Thus I have analyzed the bivalent problematics of the embodiment and social location of early menopause as imbricated, dynamic and unending discourses. From this perspective I reviewed the literature that was available on early menopause. In Chapter One I look to descriptions of early menopause and note that it has disappeared into a conglomeration of disparate, mostly medical, discourses that are contradictory. Nevertheless medical discourses offer ‘conclusive’ definitions of early menopause that are based on naturalistic views of the body (Shilling 1994). The determinants used are inconsistent and do not include women's discourses of early menopause. Thus, dominant medical discourses obscure women’s embodied experiences of early menopause and ignore the contemporary causes of early menopause. In Chapter Two I examine the causes of early menopause as a way of explaining the disparity between medical discourses and my anecdotal observations of early menopause as a fairly common contemporary occurrence. The relatively recent escalation in gynaecological surgery, especially hysterectomy, appears to account almost single-handedly for early menopause as a current phenomenon. Moreover, the extraordinary number of women who have their uterus removed at hysterectomy can be interpreted as a modern implementation of ancient anxieties. Women's sexuality has been constructed throughout history as problematic and this unease has been translated through women's bodies as dangerous and in need of control (Greer 1992). Thus social concerns which have evolved historically have emerged through the representation of a woman's uterus as an unseen, dark and mysterious risk (Beck 1993). Medical discourses define this risk and are able to negate the so-called dangers of women's sexuality through the surgical removal of their organs. Widespread negotiation of medical discourses is apparent, as hysterectomy in the modern Western world is the most common of all surgical operations (Hufnagel 1989). It is overwhelmingly the most common cause of early menopause as well. I examine also the historical condemnation of infertile women and how this anxiety has been transposed to the modern world through the commercialization of reproduction. Transactions of this social unease can cause early menopause. For instance the medical technology of in-vitro fertilization (I.V.F.) has been offered as a panacea for the infertility of early menopause but, paradoxically, can cause early menopause as well. Conception through technology has been normalized as a viable option for women who are unable to conceive and understandings of I.V.F. have moved into everyday discourse. Medical discourses have constructed fertility as a saleable item and infertile women expect that they can purchase this merchandise. Human eggs have become lucrative commodities that now are available in the market place. Egg ‘donation’ for I.V.F. programs can hasten the attrition rate of eggs and can cause early menopause in some pre-menopausal women (Rowland 1992: 24). Even the recycling of a woman’s uterus supposedly has become a possibility through the transferring of this ‘used’ organ at hysterectomy to a recipient woman who can use the other woman’s uterus as a ‘gestational garage’ (Rogers 1998). In this way women have been disembodied as mechanical systems with inter-changeable body parts and the potentially detrimental consequences of these commercial transactions are ignored. In addition I show how early menopause can be caused by the connection between the self and the social structure. Women's subjectivity is constituted through the cultural discourses available to them and these discourses affect social behaviour (Lupton 1995). For instance smoking and dieting have been identified as causes of early menopause. These activities have been related to the creation of women’s bodies as hetero-sexually desirable and are endemic to young women (Evans-Young 1995). This suggests that cultural causes of early menopause are transactions of sexual politics. Yet there is a paucity of literature that acknowledges the relationship between women’s subjectivity and early menopause. Thus the second chapter exposes a link between sexual politics and causes of early menopause through women's relationships with risk, naturalism and the self. In Chapter Three I deconstruct early menopause through theoretical considerations. I rely on an overarching poststructuralism that embraces the concept of fragmented plural discourses and the subjectivity of menopausal women as a continuous process (Komesaroff 1997: 61). I have woven these variables through broad feminist critiques (Leonard 1997). Through this eclectic approach I hoped to find some loose alignment between the corporeal, ontological and embodied dimensions of early menopause. The recurring themes of sexuality, fertility and subjectivity emerge through deconstructing discourses of sexual difference as immutable and non-negotiable; exposing ‘premature ovarian failure’ as a discursive construction that censures early-menopausal women; and acknowledging the discourses of individual women as unique, diverse and dynamic. I looked to a method of exposing some of these individual discourses and in Chapter Four I describe a critical research process aimed at understanding early menopause as a lived experience. In the remaining chapters I align these ontological arguments with an analysis of the discourses of women who had experienced or were experiencing an early menopause. This section partly relieves the ‘cultural non-recognition’ of the discourses of early-menopausal women. I recorded the narratives of fifty early-menopausal women through in-depth interviews and used this empirical data to direct the study. This data provides the opportunity to understand early menopause as an assortment of embodied experiences. For instance women’s experiences of age at commencement of menopause spanned over three and half decades. They did not reflect the age specifications prescribed by medical discourses. Rather women interpreted their experiences within their own discourses and determined their menopause as early based upon the expectations of their cultural context. Many of the women experienced changes attributed to menopause at midlife. It was not these changes that were significant to early-menopausal women it was how each woman translated these changes that provided meanings of early menopause. In Chapter Five I introduce the women through a table that connects the varying experiences of each woman. This profile shows that, in the main, the women’s experiences of early menopause were unexpected. I suggest that this is due to the disparity between early-menopausal women’s experiences and the current age and social norms of menopause. By bracketing the women into cohorts patterns emerged displaying differences between women who had menopause in their teens, twenties, thirties and forties. Adolescent women had intense feelings of abnormality and despair. Women who were in their twenties were less devastated by menopause than the younger women but described their sexuality and self-identity as changing. And although some women in their thirties were shocked or dismayed to have an early menopause others were ambivalent or happy. These women also described their sexuality and self-identity through changing discourses. A number of the women who were in their forties said that they were ‘too young for the menopause’ but were far less despondent than the younger women. It seemed that the greater the distance between age norms and social norms the more negatively women responded. Age norms that determine the social norms of women's lives through a ‘biological clock’ are constructed to reflect social values. But age is a social construction that changes over time. Thus it would appear that women’s changing bodies and changing discourses of early menopause are in the process of recreating age and social norms around menopause. In Chapter Six I draw upon women’s narratives that describe a connection between early menopause and sexuality. Yet the respondents were not unified in their constructions of sexuality. For instance a number of the women rejected the containment of their sexuality as absolute and defined in terms of bi-lateral hetero-sexual opposition. The discourses of these women constructed their sexuality as continuously flexible. Some early-menopausal women described this sexual mobility as an equivocal relationship between their sexuality, reproductive capacity and female organs. Other women articulated their sexuality as vacillating, ambiguous and unrepresentative of the so-called ‘true woman’. Several felt that they were not meant to have female reproductive organs at all. Nearly one third of the women had had their uterus removed at hysterectomy and the reproductive organs of two women were rudimentary. Women’s narratives showed that the social value of fertility influences constructions of early menopause. In Chapter Seven I record the contrast between the poignant responses of women who wished to have a baby of their own and other women who resisted discourses that entwine reproductivity with being a woman. For instance some women negotiated fertility through economic discourses of consumerism with the expectation that they could purchase conception as a commodity. Other women welcomed their early menopause as freedom from contraceptive concerns and others had no interest in reproduction at all. Thus discord arose through discourses that problematize early-menopausal women as non-reproductive and discourses that value variability. In addition many of the women’s accounts constructed their subjectivity as mobile, challenging the notion that discourses of the self are immutable. Chapter Eight presents narratives which suggest that the subjectivity of many women was altered continuously by early menopause. Yet some of the women rejected the construction of their subjectivity as unfluctuating. These contradictions reflect the uncertainties of the contemporary world. Nevertheless most respondents found that the tethering of menopause to constructions of midlife was incongruous with their own experiences. Many women refused to accept the label of social redundancy attached to middle-aged women. They moved their subjectivity beyond the reproductive body to a shifting and tractable identity of the self. This thesis demonstrates that the medical construction of early menopause as a rare and natural female flaw varies from women's experiences which suggest that early menopause is common and discursively constructed. This disparity has occurred through the privilege placed upon the construction of bodies as immutable and sexually static. This privileging has obscured the multi-dimensional causes of early menopause and given preference to a mono-causal theory. By exposing the variety of causes of early menopause the medical construction of women through a universal and unalterable body of reproduction is challenged. Moreover, women's discourses of early menopause demonstrate that the medical reduction of early menopause to a spontaneous bio-chemical malfunction has ignored the volatility of women’s embodied experiences. Women experience early menopause variously and through mercurial discourses. I suggest here that women's discourses of their experiences of early menopause reflect recurring and restructuring philosophical quandaries of fertility, sexuality and subjectivity. While there can be no representative claims made from this thesis it contributes to an understanding of the embodied experiences of early menopause. It provides an understanding of the creation of early menopause through social practices and goes part way to redressing the problematics of what Fraser terms ‘cultural non-recognition’. But, more importantly, it acknowledges early menopause as a variety of experiences where women interpret their changing bodies through changing discourses.

Effect of erectile dysfunction medications on coexsisting dysfunctions in couples : Partner's Preference Study

There is sparse information on how treatments for erectile dysfunction (ED) affects couples. This study investigated the effects of ED treatments on 100 heterosexual couples' sexual functioning and whether function achieved using a short-acting versus a long-acting ED medication differed significantly. Couples were randomized to use tadalafil or sildenafil for each of two 12-week study phases; they completed questionnaires (International Index of Sexual Function and Female Sexual Function Index) and kept sexual event diaries. All participants experienced significant improvements over baseline sexual functioning, while the men used short- or long-acting ED medications with no significant differences related to the duration of drug action recorded for either the men or women. Despite this lack of difference in efficacy there was a strong preference by women (79%) and their partners (16%) for the longer-acting medication. The reasons for this warrant further investigation. Understanding the effects on couples of the use of ED medications is a necessary aspect of ensuring ongoing sexual satisfaction in couples treated for ED.